Are These Proposed Laws Undemocratic?

Coming up on the agenda of the Congress are two proposed acts that some have characterized as being undemocratic. Let’s see what the commotion is all about.
The first piece of legislation is the reintroduction of the “Fairness Doctrine”, which was first introduced by the F.C.C. ( Federal Communications Commission) in 1949, but wasn’t really enforced. In 1967, the F.C.C. incorporated it into F.C.C. regulations. It’s purpose was to mandate broadcasters to air contrasting views regarding controversial matters.
In 1987, the F.C.C. abolished the doctrine by a 4-0 vote and it was upheld by the Appeals Court for the D.C. circuit. Part of the court decision read, “ the intrusion by government into the content of programming occasioned by the enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine restricts the journalistic freedom of broadcasters….”.
Since that time, with the growing popularity of conservative talk radio and some T.V. shows, the Democrats in Congress have threatened to reintroduce this Fairness Doctrine, spearheaded by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Chuck Schumer. This proposal has met strong opposition by libertarians and conservatives who say it as an attempt to regulate or mandate certain types of speech on the airwaves. This is considered to be a direct attack on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
If liberals don’t like what views are being communicated on the radio or T.V., they could just turn the dial and change the station, or they could start their own media outlet to present their own views on various controversial topics. The problem is, liberal talk radio and T.V. are not popular with audiences, and therefore are financial busts. A good example is the ill-fated
“ Air America” ( bankrolled by George Soros) a broadcasting basket case.
The other piece of “ legally challenged” proposed legislation is the ill-named “ Employee Free Choice Act”, which will do away with the “ secret ballot” in union representation elections. In its place will be instituted a “ card check” procedure whereby a union may gather signatures of workers in a business or industry, by having the workers check a card to say they want to have the union represent them as their bargaining agent. Sounds benign, but upon closer scrutiny, the possibility of intimidation by union organizers upon confronting the worker is a real possibility. Whether the worker wants the union or not, it will be difficult for him/her to refuse to sign when pressure is put on him by the union and fellow pro-union workers. The
“ secret ballot” is one of the cornerstones of our democracy, and most people agree ( about 70% according to a poll) agree that it should be retained as being the fair and right thing to do. Even liberal icon and former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, has come out for defeat of this proposal, by saying it is unconstitutional.
The motivation for this piece of legislation is a payback to the unions, by the Democrats, for the tremendous financial and physical support the unions have given them to help them in their quest for electoral victories. It also means more dues paying members for the unions after years of declining membership.
President-elect Obama has said he wants to be a uniter and not a divider, but if the Democrats pass these proposed acts, and he signs them, it will cause a tremendous backlash from the Republicans, Independents, and even some liberals.
The old saying, “ Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong”, certainly applies in these cases of vindictive ( Fairness Doctrine) and pro-active ( Employee Free Choice Act) pieces of legislation.

Written by Chuck Lehmann
"Chuck on the Right Side"